Resident group a major player

It was 12 years ago when a group of Shrewsbury Street-area residents decided it was time to take the bull by the horns and turn things around in their neighborhood before it was too late.

While the Shrewsbury Street area long had a very active merchants association, those who lived there lacked a voice regarding what was going on in their neighborhood.

Concerned about the deterioration they saw taking places in some areas, a group of Shrewsbury Street residents, led by Gary J. Vecchio and Elaine Simone, founded the Shrewsbury Street Neighborhood Association in July 2001.

The association’s monthly meetings gave the residents the organized forum they needed to tackle a variety of quality of life, public safety, code and economic issues in the Shrewsbury Street neighborhood.

In the process, the Shrewsbury Street Neighborhood Association has not only become a major player in the city’s East Side, but it has also had an important impact on the city in general.

“We started this group because of the deterioration we saw occurring in our neighborhood,” Mr. Vecchio said Thursday night when the group celebrated its 12th anniversary. “We saw things going downhill and there were those of us who were determined to save the neighborhood.

“With the cooperation we’ve received from the city over the years, as an association I think we’ve done a very good job in turning things around here,” he added. “We’ve come far as an association and so has the Shrewsbury Street area.”

Over the years, the neighborhood has had its battles with Shrewsbury Street bar and restaurant owners, particularly over late-night closings and outdoor dining, and the problems they generated.

Mr. Vecchio recalled when Shrewsbury Street would become “inundated” with rather inebriated people after the bars closed at 2 a.m. He said people would often continue milling on Shrewsbury Street after that, with some continuing to drink in parking lots.

It was not unusual for fights to break out, and people living on Shrewsbury Street often had to put up with all sorts of noise in the early morning hours from boisterous drunks, some rather ugly public acts (public urination and vomiting) and damage to their property.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there was also the early morning motorcycle drag-racing up and down Shrewsbury Street after the bars closed.

But working with the city and the bar owners on Shrewsbury Street, the neighborhood group has been able to change the culture that used to exist.

“It wasn’t pretty back then, but all of that has changed,” Mr. Vecchio recalled. “We were determined not to have Shrewsbury Street become the city’s entertainment district. Shrewsbury Street has a lot of restaurants, but it is also a residential district. A lot of people live on Shrewsbury Street and on the side streets right off it.”

The Shrewsbury Street Neighborhood Association also played an instrumental role in getting the city to enforce the rules for outdoor dining at restaurants.

When outdoor dining became a popular feature at many restaurants on Shrewsbury Street, some had set up their tables and chairs on the sidewalk in front of their establishment in such a way that it forced pedestrians into the street.

Some restaurants also had been setting up mini-bars outside for their outdoor patrons in violation of the city ordinance, which requires that all liquor served outdoors be brought from the bar inside the restaurant.

When the Shrewsbury Street Neighborhood Association brought these issues to the attention of the City Council and the city administration, they were quickly resolved.

Later, the neighborhood group worked with the restaurant owners so they could extend the hours they can have outdoor seating and dining, as well as the time of year it can be offered.

“I’m not saying we don’t have our problems; we have areas that do need our attention,” Mr. Vecchio said.

District 2 City Councilor Philip P. Palmieri, whose district includes the Shrewsbury Street area, said the celebration of the neighborhood group’s 12th anniversary is a noteworthy milestone. He said such neighborhood groups across the city have greatly helped him and his other district council colleagues in identifying neighborhood problems.